1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of industrial laboratory safety and security, and specifically this invention relates to a system and method for providing rapid change-over for various resource types, and for easily transferring materials in to and out of a confinement system without the potential for contaminants or atmospheres crossing the confinement barrier.
2. Background of Invention
Atmosphere containment systems have various ports for material transition and resources across the confinement barrier. Gloveboxes, like other containment systems, facilitate the needs of research personnel in handling and manipulating hazardous materials by separating a generally uncontaminated exterior area from a contaminated area. Alternatively, containment systems are used in handling/preparing/packaging sensitive (perhaps purified) materials within a clean room enclosure such as a glovebox so as to isolate the materials from the external environment. The side of the barrier, inside or outside, depends on the use of the confinement system. In “clean” glovebox type applications, as found in the pharmaceutical production industry, the glovebox containment prevents contaminants from entering the product process area. With hazardous material applications, the barrier provides protection to workers manipulating the materials.
Gloveboxes surround and control such hazardous materials by physically isolating the hazard inside a defined enclosure while permitting hands-on work via glove-ports. Since gloveboxes are designed and fabricated for a specific application, future changes in use, with the associated need to change/add resources, is very difficult. As a result, it is not uncommon to see gloveboxes “jury-rigged” in labs to get around the permanently-configured design of the glovebox to make it usable for the required experiment or production process. This jury-rigged resource change, driven by necessity, degrades the containment capability of the glovebox and increases the possibility of loss of containment with consequent problematic effects.
Hazards commonly encountered with traditional glovebox use include, but are not limited to, unmitigated fire propagation inside the glovebox, and hazards specific to a type of technology (e.g., chemical, biological, pharmacological, Engineered Nano Particles, and nuclear). Further, as traditional gloveboxes often lack a convenient method for transferring hazardous materials to and from the glovebox while the glovebox is in use, users of such gloveboxes must load hazardous materials into the glovebox prior to initiating use. This requires anticipating all of the reagent and tool needs prior to beginning work. Furthermore, replacing, removing and/or otherwise transferring hazardous materials in such a glovebox often requires the user to end the usage session and breach the barrier for the required material transfer or glovebox modification and resource addition such as electrical, data, or process fluid additive.
As a result, once glovebox operations begin, users are unable to bring unanticipated yet needed additional materials into the glovebox. In turn, certain aspects of experimental creativity and complexity may be restricted on part of the user. Further, in traditional glovebox arrangements, volume within the glovebox must be first allocated to the housing and storage of a given hazardous contaminant, and also to any product (such as those materials generated via clean room technology) produced. Thus, overall experimental and physical capacity is often limited.
Given the demanding needs of research personnel, traditional gloveboxes lacking a method for transferring contaminant materials during usage are limiting. Further, general administrative and other methods such as bagging or out-right system breach procedures consume time, energy and resources and may be ineffective and/or inefficient at transferring in hazardous materials into the glovebox or purified substances out of the glovebox as desired. For instance, resources may be wasted during such a transfer resulting in a quality risk of bad product, or compromising the integrity of the experiment. Moreover, consumption of the wrong resource during a transfer may result in further production or experimental delays. Also, the proper cleaning of hazardous materials as related to usage with a glovebox may require the user to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (“PPE”) resulting in an additional inconvenience. Moreover, consumption of the wrong resource during a transfer may result in further production delays.
Usage of a traditional glovebox lacking an independent means of transferring in and out hazardous materials limits resources available for a given experiment and often does not permit for convenient real-time process change. Further, resource modification, when needed, can become costly. The challenges, either taken individually or in conjunction, can result in lengthy production delays.
A need exists in the art for a system for transferring substrates, tools, and other matters in and out of containment systems, those systems including but not limited to process-, hazard-, and research-enclosure systems generally, and gloveboxes, containment systems, isolation systems, confinement systems, cleanrooms, negative air systems, and positive air system areas specifically. The system should prevent intermingling of containment environments with regions outside of contamination of the environment exterior to the containment system with hazardous materials. Furthermore, the system should operate with existing containment structures and devices.